


Switching Sides

by godcanthelpyounow



Category: Cookie Run (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Kind of Happy ending?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-11-13 13:17:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18032444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/godcanthelpyounow/pseuds/godcanthelpyounow
Summary: Cream puff gets a new accessory, and Wizard is worried.





	Switching Sides

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Cookie Run angst week. This fic is paired with artwork made by my wonderful friend Comi!

As one of the two Guardians of the City of Wizards, Wizard typically has a lot on his plate. So, when Cream puff came to him, asking if she, too, could learn magic and protect the City, he was ecstatic. Teaching others was something he found he enjoyed doing, and sharing the burden of Guardianship would be a welcome relief. 

Teaching Cream puff proved to be a harder task than he had first anticipated, but he wasn’t discouraged. Normal cookies aren’t born with great swathes of power like he was. That Cream puff could manage to conjure jellies was a feat in and of itself. He explained that to Cream puff as best he could, and sent her along to study. As much as he wanted to hang out with her, his duties never ceased.

Cream puff was, at first, understanding. Wizard cookie was created for the sole purpose of using magic, so of course the rest of the cookies would not easily harness the same abilities. As her powers reached a plateau, however, she began to feel less accepting and far more concerned. At the rate they were going, she would never be able to help Wizard cookie! There had to be some way to increase her magical capacity, or even just speed up the process.

She went to the vast library and began her search. For a long time, it seemed like she was searching in vain. Finally, after weeks of failure and incompetence, she heard a whisper from the dusty back corner of the immense library. She vaguely wondered if this was one of the areas that Wizard had told her to avoid, but she made way through the dusty old bookshelves anyway. She only made it partway through before the whispers stopped and she found herself lost among the shelves. With little thought to the strange experience, she shrugged it off and continued her search elsewhere. A short while later, Wizard called in for their nightly lessons.

Days rolled by and each day she found herself getting more and more frustrated with their lessons and more and more lost among the shelves. The whispers grew louder and stayed with her longer the farther back she got among the cobwebbed shelves. They sounded like papers rustling; they smelled like the loam of the earth; they felt like the sharp chill of winter. She found them less alarming than she should. They do not whisper dark secrets to her. They reassure her that she is not a failure, that she is right to find answers on her own, that she will be a great wizard, that one day Moonlight will trust her as much as she trusts Wizard. She didn’t think that a voice that said such kind words could be evil.

The voice lead her to an old forgotten shelf in a hidden alcove of the library. It seemed almost as if someone never wanted the book to be found again. With the voice urging her on, Cream puff sat down with the book and began to read. It spoke of an ancient hat that could grant power to any cookie that could find it. This magic garment seemed like the solution to all of her problems. With it she could finally meet - and possibly even surpass! - Wizard’s expectations.

She read further, making plans to obtain the hat with the raspy whisper chattering in her ear, successfully distracting her from the blank book transcribing itself right in her lap.

When Cream puff first announced her intention to go search for a magical artifact for Moonlight to inspect and document, he wasn’t overly suspicious. He himself had gone foraging for lost, vaguely described magical items. What bothered him in the days after she left was not the lack of physical descriptors, but magical ones. Moonlight had told him that all of the books within the library contained, if not physical descriptions, then at least descriptions of the magical energy surrounding the object. 

He went to Moonlight for guidance. He was sure that she could help him figure out if he should be worried or not at the very least. She assured him that there was nothing to worry about, but he couldn’t ignore the unease that grew within him as he waited for Cream puff to return.

When she came back she was… different. Not drastically, but enough so that Wizard felt he should keep her under observation. She claimed that she hadn’t managed to find the object she had been searching for. That, in itself, is not suspicious, but she did not tell him of the places she traveled or the people she spoke to. She did not regale him with tales of her adventure as she once would have. He could feel the chasm growing between them. The thread of their friendship was fraying.

They continued their lessons in molding her magic. To Wizard’s surprise, Cream puff was growing better at a continuous, nearly exponential rate. It was a delightful change, one he thought Cream puff would be proud of. When he attempted to congratulate her on it, however, she seemed agitated, almost frustrated with herself. Far more frustrated than she’d been even in the days prior to her excursion. His worries grew as her magic darkened around her.

It all came to a head when he discovered her in the darkest section of the library, books on dark magic surrounding her and a sinister looking cap upon her head.

He recognized it immediately. He knew of all the witch’s evil artifacts. He couldn’t believe Cream puff would lie to them so she could go off on a sanctioned adventure to _the_ most dangerous place possible without telling him. He didn’t want to believe she’d risk her life like that.

Needless to say, he confronted her about it. It did not go well. In spite of his best efforts, she refused to believe that the hat was hurting her. Wizard was nearly in tears. His dear friend and protegé was perverting her magic, and for what? He couldn’t understand why she couldn’t just _wait_.

Cream puff seemed nearly as frustrated as he was. Her magic swarmed chaotically around her as she struggled to explain why she had taken the hat. She had just wanted to make progress, to stand with Wizard on equal footing.Why was he so against the idea?

 _He doesn’t want an equal_ , the voice whispered. _He doesn’t want a partner. He wants a follower._

“I thought you would be proud of the progress I made, regardless of how it was achieved, Wizard. I did this for you.” Her voice was cold, colder than it had ever been. Wizard is horrified. To think that he had been the one to drive his friend to seek out the witch’s aid! The guilt was nearly unbearable.

“Cream puff, I’ve always been proud of you,” he said softly, voice trembling. “I was proud of you the moment you came to me and asked to learn magic. But magic is _hard_. It is not something you’re just suddenly good at. Choosing to steal and, more importantly, _use_ the witch’s dark artifacts is not a decision to be proud of, and it sours all of your past achievements.”

“What are you saying, Wizard?” Cream puff looked like she’ll start crying any second, but Wizard will not back down. She needed to understand. She needed to get rid of the hat.

“If you continue down this path, I will cut ties with you, Cream puff. Our friendship will be void. And I will be forced to revoke all knowledge I have imparted upon you. Please, I don’t want to do this. This is your last chance. Give me the hat.” Wizard’s voice trembled with his tumultuous emotions.

Cream puff couldn’t believe Wizard, her supposed _friend_ , was giving her an ultimatum. She did this for him! He’s the one that wanted help protecting this crumbling city, and now he’s turning her away! The voice was whispering to her again ( _yes, he knows you’re getting more powerful, he’s afraid, he’s trying to snuff you out before you can surpass him_ ) adding fuel to the flames of her ire. She wanted to curse Wizard, but looking at him, seeing the ever-present concern in his eyes, she just wanted this argument to be over. She wanted her friend to approve of her choices. If she had to let him be the one with the most power, it’s not like it was a big deal right? She’s still better than all the rest of the cookies, and this way she’ll still have her friend.

 _Why not give him your gift?_ The voice slithered into her skull like a venomous snake. _He’ll feel better if he has an artifact too, don’t you think?_

Of course! Why didn’t she think of that earlier?

“Wizard, why don’t we finish this later? I have something I need to take care of.” Without giving him a chance to stop her, Cream puff left the library. She needed to prepare her gift.

Wizard immediately went to tell Moonlight of Cream puff’s corruption. Given that Moonlight was narcoleptic at best, he was not surprised that she was not in the first place he looked. While normally her disappearing act was a mild nuisance, now it was causing him to panic. Where could she be? He traversed her usual routes in an attempt to find her, but was intercepted by Cream puff. They were at the top of the Clock Tower, where Moonlight typically stood guard. She had him cornered.

“Wizard, I brought something back for you from my travels. I meant to give it to you once I completed my training, but… I suppose now will have to do.” Cream puff proffered a wooden staff to him. Wizard could feel the dark energy emanating from the seemingly innocent piece of wood. “We could be great together, Wizard. We could be the most powerful cookies in the kingdom. I want that for us. Don’t you?”

Wizard Cookie never wanted to be “great” or “powerful”. His destiny had always been to protect the City of Wizards. From the moment he gained consciousness in that oven to this very moment, where he is forced to make the most difficult of choices, he knew that it was his duty.

Staring into Cream puff’s tearful eyes, the easy acceptance he could read in her eyes as she was slowly being consumed by the Witch’s darkness, it was more difficult than it had ever been to remember his purpose. He could hear the Witch murmuring in his ear, seeking a foothold for her corruption. He could feel her presence at the back of his head, watching the events of her deception play out before with a vague sense of amusement.

He closed his eyes and prayed that there was still something left of Cream puff in there. Something left to save. Cream puff was a pure soul before she met him, and he regretted even indirectly introducing her to this darkness.

The witch, ever manipulative, pulled her influence from Cream puff briefly. She sputtered and cried, the cloying darkness clinging to her like oil. She crumpled to the ground as Wizard watched her with suspicious eyes.

“Wizard… please…This is your last chance.” The echo of his own words freezes him. “Please, take it. I don’t know what she’ll make me do if you don’t. I don’t want to hurt you… I don’t want to hurt anybody…”

Wizard, for all that he is on his guard, couldn’t stand to watch his friend cry. He wasn’t sure if there was anything left of his friend underneath the darkness, but he wouldn’t just leave her to suffer. He didn’t want to make things worse for her. 

He was sure he was strong enough to resist the temptation of the witch’s power. With hesitant hands, he took the staff from his friend, and the witch’s power enveloped them both. There was a small burst of magic and an azure eye of flame blinked open atop Wizard’s staff.

He helped Cream puff up up from where she was still sniffling on the ground. She wiped her eyes and smiled at Wizard.

“It feels good, doesn’t it?” It’s less a question than a statement. Wizard takes a moment to assess himself. He felt more connected to his magic than ever before. The power thrummed just below the surface, just waiting for him to call upon it. He looked at the mesmerizing blue flame that adorned his new staff, debated if allowing the darkness to consume him was worth it. One look at his friend’s happy expression was more than enough for him.

“Yeah. It does.”


End file.
